Fort Breendonk

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Built just before the outbreak of World War I as part of a defensive perimeter around Antwerp, the heavily fortified Fort Breendonk was bypassed during the Great War, and was already obsolete by the time the Germans invaded Belgium during World War II. The Nazis converted the fort into a prison camp and put it under control of the SS. The inmates were treated brutally, with the camp commander often setting his German Shepherd on them, his wife doling out punishment on a whim, and the camp guards forcing inmates to hold a shovel in the moat until they drowned. It’s estimated that only 10% of the inmates survived the war. Today, the site is perhaps the best preserved Nazi prison camp, where visitors can see the original torture chamber, gallows, barracks, and other structures. At this memorial, visitors will learn about the horrors endured by the camp prisoners through film, photographs, artefacts, and a moving audioguide.